Creation versus consumption

The Lower School Educational Technology program is iPad-centric and focuses on building foundational technology skills. Students move away from technology consumption and begin to understand that technology is a tool that can be used as an outlet for personal creativity, innovation, communication, and learning. Technology integration in the classroom comprises both the final outcome and the creation or development process, whether it is a tangible product or a learning objective. In the Lower School, students gain confidence using a wide variety of tools which prepare them for Middle School.

Foundational skills

General operation of iPads and laptops;

Keyboarding and publishing;

Digital collaboration;

Presentation design;

Video editing;

Programming;

Cloud applications;

Digital etiquette and internet safety.

Project examples

Kindergarten students use Draw and Tell apps to create, draw, and narrate number bond stories;

First-graders work with their fifth grade buddies to take photographs on their nature walk and then layer them images with a typed haiku, and narrate and compile them into classroom poetry books using Book Creator;

Second grade students use green screen and video editing tools to film commercials advertising their products for the craft store unit;

Third-graders create an online webpage with various presentation design elements to deliver information on a topic of interest;

Fourth grade students virtually collaborate in Minecraft to recreate Native American villages and then give a tour with screencasting tool;

Fifth grade students collaborate to write their own parodies and film video clips, which they then pair with music to present parodies in a music video.